10 Ways to Become Your Own Community Manager

When we’re starting in the business and we need to increase our popularity; to have more contracts/clients, most of the time we need to hire a community manager (a person who’s in charge to do the publicity or be constantly active in the social networks) this will be very good when your popularity is very high and you don’t have time to do it, but I highly recommend you to start by yourself as your own community manager, so you can get to know your work in the Internet since the beginning.

At first, we need to structure our portfolio, increase our social networks, do the website and expose our job to the world. I know it’s a lot of work but the good thing is that at the beginning you have the time to do it, after you’ll just hire someone or an enterprise to continue the job you’ve already done. Let me tell you that people appreciate more the artist who’s directly in contact with them.

Today we’re going to explain you how to be the best community manager ever of your own work as a photographer, believe me this will worth in time!

1. Structure Your Work

First, you need to structure your work or at least start thinking what’s going to be the next shooting, or how you’re going to edit some material you’ve already; it’s up to you, the true here is that you need to have a minimum of artwork if you want to start the publicity as a photographer and also to send it to your clients when they ask you.

You need to classify the work; the photos who’re going to be in the website and in the photography networks, such as; Behance, Flickr or 500px and the ones you’ll put on Instagram, Facebook and the other social networks (here the pictures don’t have to be highly professionals) the important is to be constant every day or at least each two days.

2. The Social Networks

To be a good community manager, THIS will be the area you need to learn the most. The social networks you need to have to increase your popularity are; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and also you’ll need to be in the photographer’s networks like; Behance, Flickr, 500px, or other of your choice (here you’ll choose just one) also you need to have a LinkedIn account to be very professional and maybe you can find good job offers!

For Instagram, Facebook (FanPage) and Twitter, you can link all the accounts between them and it will be easier to you to do the posts and be active in the 3 accounts at the same time, never forget to show your personal website in these accounts. For the photographer’s networks you will upload your work each two a three weeks like maximum; here’s all the series and the professional pictures as a photographer with high quality; the same pictures you have in your personal website (here’s more security to protect your pictures than the basic social networks we mentioned before).

Nowadays, Facebook and other applications can help you to schedule your work, so you can take a free Sunday to schedule all the things you’re going to show during the next week, this is really helpful is you want to save time or if you’re too busy to be active everyday.

3. The Common Rights and The Security

This is really important and so frustrating at the same time, we know that nobody is safe from Internet, but at least you can use websites (Behance) where the common rights of the pictures are includes, or you can go to a personal site like Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org) who offer different methods to protect your pictures of the Internet thieves.

The only bad thing to submit your work in social networks, such as; Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, believe me that your work belongs to them and is really easy that someone can download your picture and use it for other purposes, that’s why you’re only going to put pictures without the highest quality; this will help that no body use them for printing or copy them in large/big formats thanks to the bad quality. The good thing is that you can show in the social networks your vision as an artist (quotes, pictures of a trip, your favorite music, your food, your inspirations, etc.) this will helps a lot to increase your popularity, people love to get personal connected.

4. Originality

This is one of the most important things, to have a good rating in your social networks and be a good manager; all the things you upload have to be very original, take your time, don’t do things in a rush way; you need to create an image of yourself and your work. So, don’t be afraid of experimenting with Photoshop, materials, textures and forms.

5. Show Yourself

To have success you need to show yourself; who you’re, what and why you’re a photographer, what inspires you as an artist, if you can gives tips about photography it’s much better! Remember, millions of people are in Internet each second and you can connect yourself with others, no matter where they are.

6. Be Active and Honest

Being a community manager is like being an actor, you need to interpreter different persons at the same time with your writing and images, but if you’re your own community manager you just need to organize your ideas and express your work as you are!

7. High-Tech: Phone/Computer/Tablet

To be a good community manager you need to have at least one computer or a tablet where you can schedule the posts of the week with some applications or in the same social networks, but if you have an intelligent phone or a tablet; believe me, you can do this no matter where you’re! Thanks technology to be everywhere!

8. Organize Your Time

This will be the success of being your own community manager, you need to organize everything very well, take one or two days at the week to schedule everything. The things you upload LIVE will be your extra points to increase your popularity, like I told you with some applications you can organize the week in one day, also you can upload a post and sending it to 3 different social accounts. You just need t get to know better the social networks!

9. #HASHTAGS

Never forget to use #hashtags, follow popular artist and be active in their accounts; liking, reposting or sharing their information, this will be really helpful! Be careful with the hash tags, if you use a lot of them can be really annoying, but if you use none you’ll not be noticed! Think carefully!

10. Positive and Think Wisely

The last one is to BE POSITIVE! It’s true my friend you need to be positive, at first is going to be hard, but you can learn some tips like this in Internet and see some videos to get the information you need. Remember to always think wisely, and follow the right persons/artists in the arts industry! This will reflect you!

Here you have the 10 ways to become your own community manager. Remember, to start increasing your popularity you need to know yourself first and set up your vision as an artist; this is really important, because it will be the start of your transformation! Good luck and see you in the social networks #partner!